SNOW... RAIN..... RAIN... CLOUDS.... MORE RAIN....

Hello Everyone! The snow is gone, (for now) and the rain has stopped for the time being. I have a feeling we will be getting more rain storms this weekend, but weather prediction is not one of London’s strengths. I am now half way through my FIFTH week… can you believe that I have been here for more then a month… I can’t believe it either… I know I haven’t been completely overtaken by the English culture because yesterday my mother asked me to “say something British”… and how I would go along doing that is beyond me, because I don’t really know what “speaking British” would entail exactly …. I guess I can give you one phrase I enjoy in particular, which is “it’s a bit cheeky” meaning “it’s a little weird”… I try to use it as much as possible during the day…

Classes are going really well…I am learning more then I would ever need to know about London and the powerhouse city it is… or was … and the more I learn about it, the more paranoid I become. There are so many rules, regulations, and not to mention the camera’s that take millions of pictures a minute to make sure every person, car and boat is in check. London is the most watched city in the ENTIRE WORLD. There are underground computer stations where hundreds of people watch and keep track of the flow of traffic, and perspective criminals. London’s systems are so advanced that the streetlights can predict a traffic jam and alternate the signal so it will help the flow of traffic. Pretty amazing. They say that since I have been here, my picture has been taken millions and millions of times. Talk about your invasion of privacy… I can’t even keep track of everything I do…

Again, the history and stories are truly amazing. Did you know that it is illegal to die in a royal palace without the monarchy’s consent? I have no idea what the punishment would be if you do in fact die in a Palace, but it is a Law. Angie, our tour guide, said it was set up so that people living in the palace would stop killing each other in order to steal the crown … This theory was almost tested, however, when one of the Prime Ministers was shot in the House of Parliament in the 1970’s. Everyone was so scared as to what would happen if he did die in Parliament, which Original Name is The Palace of Westminster (because it was original a Palace, that was given to parliament by King Henry VIII because it smelled so bad), that when the Prime Minister was shot, they picked him up and ran him outside. The interesting part, however is that the shot itself was not the cause of death, but rather the shock from being dragged out Parliament. Better to be safe then sorry I guess.

Along with learning about London, I have met a lot of fun new people. I live in a three person room (the biggest one out of the whole group) on the ground floor of the building. (In England the “1st floor” is called the ground floor and the “2nd floor” is called the 1st floor… it gets a little confusing when dealing with more then 5 levels or basements) Both of my roommates are really nice and funny. The only thing is, we are all sorority girls, meaning we are not use to having to cook our own meals, wash our own dishes and clean up after every mess. It seem kind of pathetic, but sorority houses are not the best places to live in order to become self sufficient. We are learning though. I am happy to report that last week, my roommate Becky did her first load of laundry with great success! It took her two hours, but that’s an outstanding accomplishment on her part! Also, my other roommate Melissa is improving her acoustic singing skills… This one needs a little more explanation. So, here’s the story. Melissa is one of the funniest and most outgoing people I have met. She loves to party and have a good time… maybe a little more then the average person, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Some nights when we come home after a night out, Melissa is not ready to go to bed. That’s fine, if she wants to stay up and continue to have a good time, that’s totally up to her. However, what Becky and I recently discovered is that Melissa, not only likes to stay up and continue to party, but she likes to “serenade” the entire apartment for the rest of the night. Yes, Melissa likes to sing with her i-pod, as loud as she can. I was dying when I first experienced this. Becky and I have video so I can show the proof later… But here’s the thing, Melissa not only likes to belt out these tunes, (well screech is a better word for what she does) but she likes to replay the same song about 15 times. Last nights performance was her rendition of Lady GaGa’s “Just Dance” for a good hour. Becky and I know all the lyrics by heart now… All in all, I love my roommates, they are wonderful girls that I have a great time with.

It is sad to think that I only have 2 and ½ months left of my Great Britain Adventure. I never want to leave this place. The magic of the city has yet to wear off. Even with the huge snow storm last week that put London at a halt, because the London transportation system doesn’t know how to deal with snow that doesn’t melt right away, I still think it is one of the best places to live. (Not that I have lived many places) But I have a feeling that for people that love the city lifestyle, London is a perfect location. (P.S. – Daddy, I think it would be extremely exciting/educational to return for the 2012 Olympics…….) TALK TO YOU ALL SOON!

Tower of London

Hello from London! Yes I know it has been some time since my last entry (2 weeks)… but it doesn’t mean that I have not been experiencing London, and some places just outside, to their full potential…. I had a long conversation with Daddy the other day about how I am not really exploring London enough and that I am just experiencing its nightlife. Although both of my previous entries have involved the participation of activities at local bars of pubs, it does not mean that I haven’t been taking in London’s many sights and monuments… to prove such point, I will now start posting a “monument tour reflection” a day to show you all what I have ACTUALLY been learning while on my trip…

Tower of London

The Tower of London in located in the City Of London, one of the two cities in London (The City of London and Westminster) London is similar to New York in that it is made up of 33 boroughs. The original London is located in The City which was in whole only 1 sq mile. William the Conqueror became king in 1066AD and built a fortress right off the river to protect his kingdom from his enemy’s who would attack him from the river…. Yes… the Tower of London is not actually a tower… but in fact a Castle… One of the first castles in London… When it was completed in 1097 it was the tallest building in London…. It really incredible to look at… it still amazes me that people back in day were able to build such elaborate building and castles without the use of modern tools…. The Tower was expanded by Edward I, who was said to be a little bit of a control freak. He built 2 walls to surround the Tower. Little of the original outside wall remains today, but there are diagrams of what it used to look like. There were look out towers that were evening spaced. Each entrance had a draw bridge and a guard gate, with series of traps that one would have to get through in order to get to the inside of the Tower.

The Tower today is still functioning. It is used to hold the crown jewels, because it is said to be the most secure place in London… That is probably due the fact that the Tower is protected 365 days a year by the Beefeaters: the guards of the Tower. The term Beefeaters came from what the original beefeaters use to do. They were the ones that use to eat the meat before the monarchy would to make sure that is wasn’t poisonous… This is another thing that I am learning in London. TRADITION! I thought USC was crazy with their traditions…. London has for sure blown us out of the water on that…. Every building had a story and a tradition behind it…. Tower of London Story: When King Edward ruled, he went on vacation or something… anyways… he left the castle… when he came back early he found that he could have easily gotten into the gates without a struggle because everything was unlocked….. Being the control freak he was, he demanded that the kingdom be locked-up entirely every night at 10 pm. SO Tower of London Tradition: To this day, the Tower has been looked at 10pm with a keys ceremony. Yep… Every night at 10 the procession of beefeaters and the keeper of the keys lock up the tower… EVERYNIGHT….. They have never missed a night locking up the Tower… they have only been about 8 minuets late one night due to a bomb during WWII…. But it was ok because they wrote a letter of apology to the king….. Crazy….

Anyways… back to the most important part of the Tower…. THE JEWEL ROOM! All of the crown jewels for the coronation and state events are kept in the Tower. I saw a 350k and a 500k diamond… it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! This is just another reason why I should be Royal…